Police to revelers: Please hold your celebratory gunfire.

A friendly note the Richmond Police Department sent us Friday reminds residents that it is indeed illegal and dangerous to fire guns in the air to celebrate the new year.

The department says they’ll be cracking down on Monday night and is asking Richmonders to refrain from engaging in the practice, which they say resulted in majority of crime reports submitted last New Year’s Eve during the midnight hour.

For a listing of New Year’s Eve happenings that we suspect will not include firearms, check out Style calendar editor Andrew Cothern’s picks.

If you’re curious about the potential lethality of firing bullets in the air, the Discovery Channel’s Myth Busters took on the question in 2007. You can find a summary of their findings here. There’s also a surprisingly fascinating Wikipedia entry on the practice, which is apparently culturally accepted in the Balkans and the Middle East.

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